We decided to take a cool walk on the North Country Trail to continue four-year journey to find the caches in the North Country GeoTrail (NCTGT). We were on a section of trail headed north from Route 321. It's a wonderful section of trail with stream crossings and nice woods.

We took a side trail to search for an out of the way geocache we hadn't found. We were surprised to find a camp along the way. We were even more surprised to find the cache container with a threatening note. We signed the log and moved on.

We took a different path on our walk back. We found a location with old electrical outlets. At times it's easy to forget the lives and people who used to call the Allegheny National Forest their home. The signs of the former residents have faded in the 50 years since the towns of Kinzua and Corydon faded into the past, but every now and then we see a sign of that past.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

I had time to spend waiting for a red-eye home so I made a first visit to Medical Lake for a late afternoon walk. The town of Medical Lake developed around the mineral rich Mineral Lake. Like so many small waters high in mineral or salts concentrations in the 1800's, the water developed a reputation for having medicinal properties which led to the development of a small resort town serving the needs of the visitors. The resort only lasted about 25 years, but the town continues to this day with the scenic lake and a main street still dotted with the buildings the lined the dirt road through Medical Lake in the early 1900's. I enjoyed a quiet walk along the peaceful shore and was happy to spot a heron on the way back.